Class of 2016...YOU DID IT!!

I know you are tired of answering questions, especially ones that seem like there isn't one right answer, but the big question to be answered now is: What's next?

Although most people make this assumption that they real world is all rainbows and butterflies, it is so much harder than any professor, teacher, or even parent can prepare you for. You've probably been filling out applications for the last 6 month or so, right? If not, don't freak out! Although it is common that during the last semester of your college career you start applying for jobs, there is nothing wrong with waiting until you graduate. That being said, I want you to remember that there is nothing wrong with any decision you make, as long as you feel like it is what is best for you. No one- not your mother, professor, or significant other- can decide what is best for you. If you feel a desire to pursue a career unrelated to your major or degree, to go back to college, or to travel- then do it. There is nothing wrong with following your heart and your dreams.

Like many of you, I was a college graduate at the ripe young age of 22. I had an internship that had job potential, and then it all when downhill when the position I could be offered no longer existed. I freaked! What was I going to do? Where was I going to work? Was I going to have to move back home? Unfortunately, I only have the answer to one of the previous questions and, so, I packed my belongings and moved back into my childhood bedroom.

Was I mortified that I was living back at home? Absolutely! But now as I look back at it, it was the best thing for me. Finally, four long months after graduation, I received a job in the next town over. I was so relieved, but then reality set in. This is the "real world", the place I had been dreaming of ever since senioritis kicked in my junior year of college. The only problem, it was nothing like I thought it would be.

Not long after starting my job, everyone's favorite company, good ole Sallie Mae starting sending my loan payments. And even though I was living at home, all the other bills started piling up as well. So this is being an adult? It was not as glamorous as I thought. I picked up a part-time job to help start saving some money, but even that seemed impossible. The worst, though, was still yet to come.

About six months into my job I was miserable. I had figured out that this was not the industry I wanted to work in, but what was I going to do, it was the only thing I knew how to do. I once again started to panic. Should I go back to college? Should I tough it out and see what comes next? I was lost and feeling like those college years were all for nothing.

That's when I made the decision to come back to school. I know what you are thinking, "No way am I going back to college, I don't have the money and I just cannot be in class anymore". I was thinking the same thing, but was being miserable now really better than sitting through some more classes? At the end of it all, I ended up back where I started, at college once again preparing myself for the real world.

So graduates of 2016, I have some advice for you. First and foremost, do not panic if you are still six months out of college with no job, you will find one I promise. Contemplating going back to school? Go! You will appreciate it much more the second time around. Wanting to get a degree completely different from your first? Do it! In life you aren't always going to please people, so don't listen to what they have to say. Follow your heart, find your passion, and find a career that you love.